The Race for the Golden Ushabti
by Tombraidergirl4ever
Summary: Larson Conway is hired to find the Golden Ushabti of King Taharqa, but Lara Croft is also looking for it! Who will be the first to get to it? Read to find out! Please RxR! Chapter Four up!
1. Prologue x Chapter 1

The Race for the Golden Ushabti

Prologue

_Sudan_

_1993_

The darkness enshrouded the man's face. He leaned toward a servant in his desk chair.

"Get me the Texan," he ordered.

"Conway, sir?" the servant whimpered.

"That's the only Texan here, isn't it?! Hurry up and get him!"

"Right away, sir."

The man sat in the dark for what felt like hours and hours. He sat smoking his cigar and blew smoke rings. Finally, he heard footsteps approaching from the hallway. Larson Conway stuck his blond head into the office.

"You asked to see me sir?" he asked in his southern accent.

"Yes, come in."

Larson stepped into the office and approached the desk.

"Sit down."

Larson sat. He wondered what he would be asked to do. Ever since he was hired, he was given menial tasks. Of course, that was fine with him, but that didn't stop his curiosity.

"I have brought you here to give you an important task. I need you to go to Nuri and find the golden Ushabti of King Taharqa. There is one catch, though. You won't be the only one looking for it."

Larson sat still. "Who else is?"

Chapter One

The Treasure Hunters Meet

The brunette quickly left her walk–in closet and brought her trunk downstairs. Excited and surging with adrenaline, she was preparing to search for none other than the golden ushabti of King Taharqa. She felt bad, she was acting like a grave robber, but, she wanted to add this one to her collection.

"Lady Croft, shall I put your trunk in the jet?" Winston, her butler, asked.

"Yes, thank you, Winston." Lara replied. Winston bent down to pick up the trunk and brought it to the jet. Lara took a moment to decide where she would put the artifact and found the perfect spot next to an Egyptian plank in the foyer. She gathered her backpack and made her way to the jet.

"Goodbye, Winston. I'll be back soon."

* * *

Lara got off the jet and gathered her trunk. She made her way to a hotel to drop off her things. As she walked in through the doors, the clerk eyed her perversely.

"_My goodness…I can't go anywhere anymore…"_ Lara thought. "Excuse me; I would like a room, please."

"Of course, Room 419 is available." The clerk gave her the key and grinned at her.

"_Gross_," Lara thought. She went up to the room and dropped off her trunk. "_Excellent, now I can go to the tomb of King Taharqa."_

Larson got off his red 4 x 4 and looked around. The area of the tomb was completely barren. "_Wow, what a social gathering place."_ Larson thought. He bent down and lifted the hatch door leading to the tomb. He climbed down the ladder and walked cautiously forward. He crept silently just as a fist came into view and knocked him out. Darkness veiled his vision.

His head throbbed and his cheek hurt. "What the hell was that?" Larson said. He opened his eyes and a woman came into his vision. She was crouched down next to him and had a pistol shoved up against his temple.

"Who are you?" the woman asked. "Why are you here?"

"I'm Conway. Larson Conway. And you're Miss Croft, is that right?"

"How do you know my name?"

"Well, my boss told me about you. But he didn't say you were beautiful."

Lara slapped his face and said, "You were sent here? By who?"

"Oma Basini."

"That grave robber!"

"Yeah, but I got to get that ushabti, otherwise I'll be fired."

"How about a race, then? The first one to the ushabti gets it?"

"You're on," Larson grinned.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The Race

Larson found himself in a cavernous room. A beam of light was peeking out of a hole in the ceiling. He just got done wrestling the aristocrat to get ahead. He was sure she would soon catch up, though. He knew she had previous experience with getting through tombs.

There was a doorway ahead of him with torches on either side. As he made his way toward it, a dart flew past him.

"_What the-"_swoosh_!_ A dart hit him right in the shoulder. "OW! Son of a-" Another dart hit him, this time in the thigh. "Damn!" Before the next dart came flying, he was running like he was on fire. He saw the door…he was almost there…with a sound like thunder, the door shut.

"Nooo!" Larson yelled. Now he was in the middle of a dart trap with no way to escape. "Damn. How'd I get myself into this?"

* * *

Lara got up from the ground. That Texan had a heated temper. That wouldn't stop her from getting the artifact, though. She started in the direction she was sure Larson had gone. He would soon get stuck in a trap, she was sure. Chances are, he'd never done this before.

There was a break in the sand and she found herself sliding down a slope. As she hit the ground, a creature came into view. A hissing sound came from it and Lara got out her pistols. The creature ran closer and closer, while hissing frighteningly. Lara finally saw it. It was wrapped in what looked like papyrus and had long fangs.

Lara began shooting at the mummy-like creature. It withstood about three bullets before it pounced on Lara. She cried out in pain as it knocked her down. With a quick jump up, she began shooting it again. After what felt like several minutes, the creature sank to the ground. Lara sighed in relief and continued on.

She came to a clearing and saw the back of Larson's head and plenty of blood in the sand. Darts were flying like mad and he was crouched in the sand, trying to evade the darts. Lara approached him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

The Ushabti

"Are you alright?" Lara asked.

"Fine", Larson said gruffly. He grit his teeth and clutched his arm in pain.

Lara looked around and her eye caught a lever in the corner of the room. "You know", she said as she approached it, "A keen mind is useful in this sort of thing." She pulled the lever and the darts stopped and the door opened. Turning around, she gave Larson a smirk. He scowled and got up from the floor.

"Let me look at that," Lara said and came toward him.

"No, I'm fine!" Larson said as he took a step back.

"You're bleeding torrents! Just let me look…"

Larson sighed and took off his shirt so Lara could take a look at his arm. Lara's eyes widened as she saw his muscles and big arms. He was a very attractive man, she realized. She took his arm in her hands and studied the wound. It was quite deep, but not very wide.

"Luckily, I have a first aid kit in my knapsack." Lara got her knapsack off of her shoulders and took out her first aid kit. There was one more bandage left in it. Lady luck…She unrolled it and attempted to wrap Larson's arm, but he pulled away.

"I don't need that."

"Of course you do!" Lara snapped. "It's a deep wound! It will stop the bleeding."

Larson bit his tongue and gave in. Lara started wrapping his arm, very gently. Larson smiled at her and said, "You don't have to be that gentle, you know. How much more pain could you possibly inflict?"

"A lot."

Larson chuckled. "_Sassy girl, she is."_

Lara finished and said, "Well, all finished. Shall we continue?"

"It's not a race anymore?"

"I never said that."

Larson grunted and they start walking through the giant doorway. Larson was limping. The dart must've gone in deep.

"Larson, you're limping!"

"It's fine…"

Lara didn't pursue the subject. Instead, she turned her attention to the platform in the middle of the cavern. A shining object stood upon it. There it was the golden ushabti…

"Look out!" Larson yelled. Another creature wrapped in papyrus came stumbling into view. Lara pulled out her pistols and began shooting. But it was too late. The mummy creature grabbed her and swung her round and round, causing her to lose control of her guns. They flew out of her hands and she cried out in pain. The creature let go of her and she went sprawling into the sand. The creature advanced on her…it was coming closer…this was the end...the creature recoiled as a shot was heard. Lara looked around and saw Larson standing tall and powerful with a shotgun in hand. Her eyes opened in surprise. Larson kept shooting the creature until it cried and became still.

When he was certain it was safe, Larson approached the artifact and grasped it in his hand.

"_Score!"_ He thought to himself and turned when a gasp was heard behind him.

Lara stood up, but fell down again in pain. She grimaced as sharp pains traveled through her ankle.

"Larson, I think I heard something crack!"

Larson limped to Lara and studied her ankle. A bone jutted out the side of it.

"Well, it's broken, darlin'…do you have anything in your kit for that?"

Lara shook her head and her face turned ghostly white.

"Here", Larson took her in his arms and carried her through the exit.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

The Escape

Larson carried Lara to his truck and put her in the passenger seat. He started up the rig and headed to the nearest hospital.

"We'll get your ankle fixed, darlin'", Larson said.

Lara smiled at him.

The truck made a stop at the wide doors of the hospital. Larson got out and carried Lara into the building. They approached the receptionist and Larson explained what happened – though not all the details.

"We'll get her into the emergency room immediately," the receptionist said.

"Thanks", Larson replied.

The doctors came out pushing a stretcher. They loaded Lara onto it and Larson sat in the waiting room.

"Mr. Conway?" a man came out of the doors leading to the emergency room.

"Yeah?"

"Hello, I'm Dr. Bruner," the doctor said, extending his hand. Larson took it briefly. "We took an x – ray of Ms. Croft's ankle. It was broken, so we put it in a cast. She'll be able to leave soon, but she'll need crutches and assistance getting home."

"Right, I can take care of that."

"Very well, she'll be out in a minute."

"Thanks."

Lara stepped out of the hospital room leaning on crutches. She stumbled at first on her way over to Larson, but he caught her before she could fall.

"How are you feeling?"

"What do you think? My freaking ankle's broken!"

Larson rolled his eyes and helped her to the car. They got in and Larson attempted to put in the keys, but Lara pounded his head with one of her crutches. Larson fell back into his seat and became limp. Lara searched his car for the ushabti and found it in the glove box. Smiling, she threw Larson out of the car, started it, and took off. She didn't stop until she reached the hotel and got on a plane back home.


End file.
